IncapacitatED
by Y2Jen
Summary: My first FMA fic, takes place shortly after the movie ends. Ed and Al are living together in Germany when Ed falls ill with something strange and serious and could die. Is it what Alphonse had? What will Al do to try and save him? Bad summary. R&R Please!
1. Chapter 1

A few months shortly after Shamballa, Ed and Al had left Munich and traveled all the way to Berlin in order to start their new lives in this new world, together. They both got jobs in order to pay for a small place to live, an apartment over a little furniture store. And they were happy together in this new land leading their new lives, and they knew they would always be happy, wherever they would go, so long as they were together.

'I promise Al, never ever to leave you… dad left us, mom left us, but I will always be with you, by your side, no matter what, as long as I live, we'll be there for each other. So help me God, Al…'

"I'm home." Ed droned tiredly as he walked in the apartment door.

"Hey brother." Al smiled, looking over from the radio as he turned it off.

"Man I'm beat." Ed flopped into his favorite chair. "One of the new guys spilled a tank of oil and the boss made ME clean it all up during MY break! Talk about a sticky situation."

"Oh like you can complain. Today I had to stock all of the produce AND pack the meat into the freezer, I nearly froze and I was so sore afterwards I could barely move!"

"Bah, that's nothing. You're just not used to it yet, I mean you've been working the counter the whole time you've been at the shop. And it's not like you have a big strong metallic body anymore. But hey, at least you're not surrounded by the stench of gasoline all day."

"Hahah. Look at us brother…"

"Huh?"

"We're starting to talk and bicker like an old married couple."

"Heh, yeah." Ed relaxed back, then sat up. "Hey! How about we go out and get something to eat!"

"Hey yeah, that's a great idea brother!"

Ed shrugged arrogantly, "Meh well yeah, I mean I AM prone to have them."

"Rarely often." Al got up and headed for the door, walking arrogantly to mock him.

"Huh what?" Ed sat up quickly and growled. "Hey you come back here and say that again to my face why don't you….!"

Ed and Al walked down the street as dusk began to darken into night, some of the street lamps had already turned on and the sun was setting off in the distance. They were headed to their favorite restaurant, and luckily it was close enough to walk to.

"You know it's been a while since we've gone out, brother. So what are you going to have, do you already know?" Al asked as they strolled.

"Yup!" Ed beamed and patted his stomach. "Gonna get a nice big juicy mutton and some pie!"

"Ew, brother." Al turned up his nose with amusement. "How can you eat that meat? It's so tough it tastes horrible."

"Yeah well I could say the same for you Al." Ed smirked, winking one eye at his younger brother. "I don't know how you can stand to drink milk. It makes me sick!"

"Oh, not this again." Al groaned and Ed just laughed, Al laughed too. 'And that was the last time I can remember, that we were both happy together….'

Ed was in bed, he clenched the sheets tightly as he drew in another sharp, uneasy breath deep within his feverish dreams. His face was flush and dotted with sweat as he breathed short and quickly. Al looked up with worry as the British doctor took the stethoscope out of his ears and draped it around his neck.

"Well?" Al choked out, hesitant to ask. "What's wrong with… is my brother going to be alright?"

The doctor sighed and shut his eyes in thought, "I, I'm not sure, I… I don't know." Ed coughed harshly and cringed in his sleep, his face tight as his body twisted and turned under the blanket as he moaned and groaned, his breathing sharp and desperate. "I can't seem to find what's causing his illness, it seems to be some sort of contamination for all we know, or even irritation from his work around rockets motor fuel or diesel gasoline."

"What?" Al gasped loudly as he flashed back to a memory of a conversation he'd had with Ed not too long ago….

"Yeah." Ed was laughing. "So what else did you want to know about this world?"

"Well, hmm…" Al began to think. He stopped, he had a good question. "You said there was another brother, another me… tell me, what the Alphonse of this world was like."

Ed smiled a bit seriously at that question, "Well, he was just so much like you… it was hard to believe he wasn't really you. He was very smart, we met through a university project of a rocket ship, and we just started work on it together. I moved in with him, we worked together, but, over a while after some time I noticed he was starting to get kinda sick, and as time went on it progressively got worse until he started to cough up blood. He admitted the doctors couldn't help fix what was wrong with him, no matter how often he'd gone to go see them, and he didn't have much time to live… but ultimately it wasn't that which killed him, as you may remember, he died to help me, and save our home…." Ed stopped, Al looked at him as he was dazed off in serious thought. Ed finally snapped out of it and wore a smile as he looked at Al, "Would you listen to me? The way I'm telling the story really is bringing to mood into a real downer." He began to laugh. "I'm sorry Al."

"No, really, it's alright." Al smiled slightly back.

"Yeah, he was really a great guy…" Ed smiled and let out a sigh as he looked back off into the distance, staring away in his thoughts, and Al just watched him…

Back in reality, Al was shaking slightly, "So you don't mean, you don't think he could DIE now could he?"

"Now that…?" The doctor gave Al a sympathetic look. "I don't know…" Al sighed with disappointment and uncertain fear. "I'm sorry." The doctor patted his shoulder and closed the door behind him as he left. Ed let out a whimpering cry of pain in his sleep as he writhed in agony, almost as if he were desperately pleading to the lord to spare him and save him.

Al slowly knelt down beside his brother's bedside, his eyes shaking with tears of pain as he could do nothing but helplessly watch as his brother struggled for survival, "No brother, no… you can't die, you just can't! You told me Ed, you told me… and you promised… You said that you'd never leave me!"

Only a few days had passed that week since Ed had become incapacitated, Al continued to remain vigil by his bedside. It was now the weekend, and Ed hadn't been conscious very much other than his moaning and groaning and tossing and turning in his sleep. Finally though, Ed's eyes opened.

"Al…?" Came the meek voice, sounding tired and weak.

"Brother!" Al gasped and rushed up quickly to be beside him.

Ed coughed, "Al. How long was I out?"

"Don't scare me like that." Al's eyes shook, he was still terrified. "It's only been a few days. Are you hungry, you haven't eaten much at all since you passed out."

"Nah." Ed shook his head slightly, still speaking quietly. "My stomach is killing me, I feel all bloated and messed up. Sides, I'd probably just vomit it all back up."

"Well, the doctor didn't give me any medicine for you, he said there wouldn't really be anything much to help." Al put the damp cloth on his older brother's forehead.

"Thanks." Ed blinked in acknowledgement, then moved his eyes back to Al. "Hey Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Do we have any aspirin, my head feels a mess and my whole body is killing me."

"Sure." Al stood up and walked off out of the room. Ed watched him go and as soon as he left he let out a writhing gasp and cringed as he keeled at the waist, clenching his stomach tightly in pain. Finally the spell passed and he could loosen back up, he panted slightly as he cough his breath.

"That was weird…" Ed sighed. "But they're getting worse… it hurts like murder."

"I'm back." Al returned and handed Ed some pills and a water. "Here."

"Thanks." Ed took them without complaint and drank all of the water. "I hope these don't go and shred up my stomach."

"Does it hurt, bad?"

"Yeah, but, I'm strong… And besides, I've been through worse." Ed forced a grin.

"Right, well, I'm going to take a nap, I'm tired. But just holler if you need me, I'll be right in the other room." Al stood up and walked off.

"Alright then, thanks Al." Ed smiled and watched him go. He sighed and lay out strait on his back, putting one arm behind his head as he thought to himself. "What is wrong with me? This has to be more than just what Alphonse had. I've never been in such pain." He put his other hand on his upset stomach. "I don't know what it is, what's going on or what's wrong with me, but, it feels like my stomach is imploding and exploding, and the sharp pains are so unbearable I can't even breathe until after the spell ends and my muscles aren't tensed up like my abs are in a vice." He frowned and closed his eyes. "And the doctor said nothing…" Ed fell asleep, he and all both slept that night. But Al was awaken late that evening when he heard Ed. He went over to his brother and saw that he was still asleep but he was yelling and crying out in pain. Al noticed that Ed was curled up tightly in a ball holding his stomach, every time he felt that sharp pain hit his stomach like a boulder punching him right deep in the gut, drilling out all of the air and refusing to let any back in to fill his lungs. He cried out and continued to gasp and pant in his delusion. "Please God I'm begging you…" Ed whimpered in his sleep, wincing and shaking from the pain. "Don't let me die, you just can't take me yet. Why me, why me, what did I ever do to you?"

"Ed…" Al's eyes shook as Ed continued to choke out for air in his dreams.

"Don't leave Alphonse all alone in this world…!"

The next day…

"Too bad it's not food poisoning, huh?" Al smirked slightly at his brother.

"Nah, cause then I'd have to get a shot." Ed laughed but winced at the stabbing pain in his gut.

Al sighed and became serious again, "Ed, the doctor called." Ed looked up at him when he said that. "He said he wanted to come over and check up on you with a follow up exam."

"Great..." Ed's grin was more of a forced mocking grimace, he was more than less than enthusiastic. "More poking and prodding from fingers and probes." He rolled his eyes away. "God this guy is worse than Mustang…"

"Come on brother, seriously, something really bad is wrong with you."

"And?"

"And?" Al scoffed at his brother's somewhat arrogant remark. "And I'm scared brother!" Ed turned to his Al who was growing upset again. "I don't want to loose you, I don't want you to die." Al was sniffing, all choked up now.

"Al..." Ed sighed, upset with himself now. About an hour and a half later the doctor showed up and took a look at his, not to patient, patient.

"Well so how has he been fairing?" He asked Al once Ed had fallen asleep, he'd given him some more powerful aspirin to try and take care of the pain he was suffering.

"I don't know, no better no worse I guess." Al spoke somewhat quietly. "He's not really eating much anything at all, and when he does it's only a little, like soup broth. But I give him plenty to drink though. But he's just always so worn out and weary."

"Well the fever is making him very tired, but the fever is the least of my concerns."

"It's what?"

"His lungs are getting worse, I can tell it pains him more and more when he coughs, it's getting harder for him to breathe. And then there's his stomach." The doctor closed his eyes and folded his arms to think. "Al." Al looked up at the question of his name. "I'd like for you to bring him to the hospital, I'd like to run some tests on him, maybe we can pin point the problem and at least get a better answer over these regular house calls."

"Right, I understand." Al nodded.

"How does Wednesday sound? I'm booked up solid tight Tuesday I'm afraid."

"That's fine sir, I'll be there I'll make sure of it."

The doctor smiled, "You're a good brother Al, to take care of your brother like that."

"Well I know that, he'd do the same for me..." Al turned to his brother wearing a slight smile. The doctor once again patted his shoulder before leaving. Al knelt on the floor, resting his head on his arms on the bed. His eyes went wide for a second as he got a horrible flashback, a picture of his mind of his and Ed's mother, as she lay dying on the bed in their old home... "No." Al buried his face into his arms. "I wont let that happen to you brother, and I know... I know you do the same for me." Ed continued to sleep peacefully.

Al was able to bring Ed to the hospital, and it was easy only because Ed was mainly passed out the whole time, the only hard part was going to be getting him to the actual facility across town. Luckily enough for them, the kind hearted old man who owned the furniture store below their apartment had a vehicle and was able to drop them off. Ed was awake once Al got him situated in a waiting room.

"Man I don't wanna be here..." Ed growled quietly in disgust.

"I know you hate hospitals, but you have to do what the doctor tells you."

"I hope he tells me to call him a jerk and that this place smells like cat pee..."

"Brother!"

"What?" Ed sniffed the air noticeably. "Well it does...!"

"You don't have to tell it like it is, brother." Al muttered and made a face. Ed just smirked, but the smirk faded once the door opened and the doctor stepped in.

"Ah Edward, Alphonse, welcome. I'm glad you were both able to make it."

"Of course." Al smiled politely.

"Smells like cat pee..." Ed muttered quietly to himself.

"Now Ed, I want to run some tests on you, but first in order to get a more accurate reading, I'm going to have to have you get everything out of your system."

Ed sighed and paused, "Alright then here it goes... this place smells like..."

"Brother!"

"What?"

"Uh, I'm not sure what you meant, but, I mean to get everything out of your digestive system..." The doctor was somewhat blank in shock.

"Oh..." Ed put a hand on his stomach. "You're not gonna shoot me up with medicine are you?" He made a face.

"Well you could always just stick your finger down your throat..." Al shrugged the suggestion.

"Ah, oh yeah..." Ed blinked and looked at his index finger, then he went to open his mouth.

"No, now that's not necessary." The doctor halted them both.

"Eh?" They both turned to him, Ed still posed with his finger ready in his mouth.

"When it comes to children..." The doctor went on, and at the mention of him being a 'child' Ed made a dark angry X face, but the doctor was smiling. "We have a somewhat more of a better alternative."

"Hmm?" Ed and Al both turned to each other and blinked with confusion.

"Oh wow, yeah!" Ed was wearing a big smile.

"Are you sure that wont make him even MORE sick?" Al asked cautiously.

"Well we need him to get everything out, and sometimes really sweet ice cream works just as good as any medicine, plus it tastes better for children."

"Call me whatever you want, I can dig it!" Ed grinned, holding a big spoon ready.

"Chocolate syrup?"

"Oh yes of course, please." At Ed's request the doctor slopped some on. "Ah, yeah now that's good eats... sure you don't want any Al?"

"No thanks... and there's something I don't get brother, you hate milk and its white, vanilla ice cream is white and is pretty much just milk."

"But it doesn't taste like vomit." Ed snorted at his brother, figuring he was just jealous.

"Aren't you going to say your grace?" Al asked.

"Ugh, alright fine... GRACE!" Ed got ready to dig in.

"Brother!"

"Ah, okay!" Ed cleared his throat. "Rub-a dub-dub, thanks for the grub!" He placed his hands together, deja vu. "Good food, good drink, good God...!"

"Just eat." Al sighed, giving up.

"Thank you." Ed smiled and took the first big spoonful and raised it to his mouth. "Ah..." But then he paused. "Eh, hey wait a sec... all this ice cream, how do I know this isn't just some ploy to have at my tonsils now?"

"I assure you, I'm not interested in sticking anything your mouth." The doctor smiled.

"Alright then!" Ed opened wide for the first bite.

"Except this!" The doctor once again caused Ed to pause as he held up a thermometer.

"Spoil sport..." Ed growled and made a sour face.

"Well at least I got you before you ate it, otherwise your mouth would be cold and give me a false reading, then I'd have to..."

"Not in the but..." Ed whimpered quietly, ducking back.

"In the but..." The doctor nodded and Ed quickly put down the spoon of ice cream and put the thermometer in his mouth. The doctor smiled over at Al who just shrugged with a slight grin back. Later... "Well it usually takes about thirty minutes to an hour to go through you, so just wait it out. I have some forms and paperwork to do on you but I'll be back."

"Great, great." Ed smiled him off and lay back against the wall as he sat on the examining table.

"Well, how do you feel?" Al asked.

"Nothing yet..." Ed shrugged and closed his eyes.

Al sighed and closed his eyes too, "A nap sounds like a good idea..." So Al fell asleep, Ed just lay away staring off into space alone with his thoughts.

He looked over at his sleeping brother and blinked his thoughts quietly, "Al..." Just then something hit him inside and his face turned blue. "Oh Al..."

"Huh?" Al asked groggily, still half out.

"Outa the way!" Ed rushed past him, out the door and rushed down the hall to the bathroom. Ed sat on the toilet with tears in his eyes, "It feels like it's on fire...!"

"Well now that that's all out of the way." The doctor was saying, they were now in a hospital room so Ed could have the tests done and he was looking very angry, literally fuming with the steaming billowing clouds of smoke were churning into a storm over his head. "I can administer the test."

"Test? As in, not plural? Alright." Ed smiled. "This is gonna be a cake walk."

"Nurse?" The doctor turned to see the nurse bring in a needle.

"Ah not a shot!" Ed cried.

"Brother no!" Al lunged onto him. "Ugh, not this again."

"It's not an injection, look it's empty." The doctor wore a sweat drop, not another syringe cringer.

"Eh?" Ed paused and looked over. "Oh yeah, so is that a fact..." He loosened up so Al let go.

"Now roll back up your sleeve, I need to draw a blood sample."

"AH no you liar, you tricked me!" Ed wailed.

"Stop it Ed, stop!" Al held him down.

"How could you Al, you traitor, stabbing my back like this." Ed sobbed. Luckily Al held him down and the doctor drew the blood sample. Ed's veins were all over his head with anger.

"We'll run the tests now, it should take about half a day, but we're requiring you to stay in the hospital for observation." The doctor explained.

"Great, so now I'm a guinea pig too, all locked up in a cage." Ed grimaced.

"Brother..."

"I'll come back with the results tonight, until then I have others to tend to on my rounds. You can call the nurse with that button on the bed there if you need anything else." The doctor left and closed the door behind them for privacy.

"Humph." Ed flopped down on the bed.

"Well, at least you're not having to wear one of those hospital gowns." Al smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah I guess..." Ed sighed and closed his eyes, still annoyed by all this. "But I don't feel any better. And I hate that doctor, he's still such a liar."

"About the shot?"

"Yeah, but that's not all..."

"Oh, what else now?"

Ed rubbed his chin, "Now my tonsils are starting to hurt."

Al wore a long face, "Ed..."

That night…

"Alright everyone, the results are in." The doctor came into the room, a file on his clip board.

"Great, did I pass?" Ed sat up on the bed, Al woke up from sleeping in the chair.

"Well…" The doctor opened it and read it once more before answering. "I'm afraid this is a great deal more serious than I figured…"

"Huh?" Ed didn't know how else to respond. "Hey wait…. So now are you going after my appendix? You greedy butcher!" Ed held tight fast onto his stomach.

"Your appendix is fine…" The doctor sighed.

"So are my tonsils, you can't have any of them."

"I don't want them." The doctor was getting tired of this.

"Brother please!" Al asked almost desperately.

"Huh? Al?" Ed blinked over at him.

"Tell us doctor." Al spoke seriously, his voice shaking. "If it's not his appendix, and it's serious, then tell us what is wrong with him!"

"Gladly." The doctor put on his glasses. "I'm not going to coat it, so I'll just be blunt."

"That's fine." Ed growled quietly. "The sooner I get my answer, the sooner we can leave."

"Not quiet I'm afraid."

"Huh?" The brothers both looked intently up at the doctor.

"I'm afraid, he's not suffering from any illness per se. I'm afraid the problem with him is located within his vital organs."

"Vital… organs?" Ed choked.

"Namely, your liver, and possible kidney failure."

"W…what?" Ed stammered dryly in shock. "But, how?"

"Ed, when you were working with Alphonse with the rockets, what exactly were you doing?"

"Well…" Ed folded his arms to remember. "Alphonse mainly worked towards the back with the engines and was around smoke and fumes for most of the time. I was too but not so much as him, maybe that's why my lungs aren't what's killing me. I was working with the motor, and with the R&D systems. And since he was more mechanical and I was more scientific…"

"He was working with gasoline and diesel while you were working with chemicals."

"Exactly. But…"

"Ed, there's something you have to tell me. It's known that the organization you were both once working for was making these for a certain higher militia power. But you have to tell me, were you working with any kind of dangerous substances, namely anything that could omit chemical radiation?"

"Well, yeah, I guess… but I don't see how…."

"Ed, radiation has a way of changing things, and I'm afraid in this case it contaminated two of your most vital organs. If they fail, you could die."

"But…" Ed held onto his stomach. "What can we do?"

"Our only hope is a transplant, but not only are the waiting lists long, but you have a very rare blood type."

"Can't he take on of my kidneys? I'm his brother, maybe we have…"

"We thought of that." The doctor cut Al off. "You have a different blood type. And even if we gave him a kidney he'd still need a liver to replace the one infected by mutation. Not only that, but the operations cost a great deal of money."

"And that's something we don't have a lot of…." Ed spoke quietly, lowering his head.

"So, what does that mean…?" Al was almost afraid to ask.

"It means that…" Ed answered. "It means that…" He couldn't speak, his voice was choking on him. "Al, I'm…. I…"

"No brother, no!" Al began to tear up.

"I'm sorry Al."

"No wait, this doesn't have to stop with this ending. Remember teacher? She..."

"I'm not teacher, Al... and this isn't our world. Things are different now, different here."

"But no, you can't, you can't leave me!"

"We can't help it Al, it's not like I want to!"

"No, no! You can't. You promised me!"

"Al, we can't change this…. It's my fate. We can't change our destiny and we can't create life. If I die, that's the end of me, but the world keeps on moving. Come on Al, have you already forgotten?"

"All is one and one is all, yes I know, but, without you… if not for you there'd be no ME! Brother, I owe you my life! The least I can do is help save yours! If not for you…. Ed, if not for you. You made a promise to me Ed!"

"I know. I know I promised, and I know how you feel, but, there are times in your life when you know you have to stop, call it quits…"

"So you'll just, you're just going to give it all up like that?"

"This choice is not up to me Al." Ed sighed quietly and looked away.

"But, but brother…. Maybe we can get a loan, we can get somebody to help us!"

"That kind of money? So what if I end up dying, what if all of this pain and surgery and money doesn't PAY OFF? You're left alone with my debt to pay. And I'm sorry Al but I just can't do that to you, I can't let you carry my burden. Not again… not anymore."

"But Ed…!"

" No Al, I'm sorry." Ed closed his eyes and turned to the doctor. "What do we owe you, for all of this?"

"So…" The doctor finally spoke up, he chose not to get into their conversation because frankly he had no idea what they were talking about. "If that's your decision…"

"What else can I do?" Ed stood up, the medicine was wearing off and the pain was starting to return, now he had to deal with both the physical, and mental emotional pain.

"Then follow me, we'll go to the front desk and get your bill." The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry." He let Ed go out the door first, then looked back at Al, and left.

Al was crying, he was trying to sniff back the tears but he was all choked up, "No brother. You promised me. I owe you my life… I can't just sit by here and let you die and leave me here all alone. It's like the past all over again… I can't let you do this to me. We're all we have, if you admit defeat and die, what's left for me in this world? I can't make it. I can't go on alone. I had to be with you Ed, I thought you knew that, I thought you figured it out when I stowed away and even came to this world! It was all for you Ed, to be with you!" He wiped his eyes and stood up. "If you've given up Ed, then I will just have to go fight for you. After all… you'd do the same for me." Al walked out of the room. "Or have you forgotten brother… about equivalent exchange…?"


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N**: _Okay, I know this is my first FMA fic and I want it to be really good, but because I have so limited time to even find to write in, I completely forgot where I even wanted to take this story, so I'm just writing as I go and hope things turn up fine, heh. Anyways, I'm glad I have a couple readers though, that makes me happy, so yay, I'll continue…!_

Edward stood waiting patiently behind the doctor as he spoke with the reception nurse on the other side of the check out desk, he had already given her the payment for the bill thus far, and luckily enough for him he had just barely over enough. She opened a file folder and wrote some things down on the paper, then nodded with a smile back up at the doctor to signal their completion. But then she glanced behind him and noticed Ed with a tense expression on his face as he gripped the shirt on his chest tightly with his hand. The nurse sighed with a small frown, she opened a drawer and pulled something out.

"Here." She extended it towards him.

"Huh?" Ed snapped out of the painful trance.

The nurse was smiling up at him, "Take this." She placed the bottle in his hand. "I can see that you are still in a lot of pain, this medicine will help the heartburn from your upset stomach." Ed opened his hand and looked at it as she continued to smile sympathetically up at him. "I used it when I had food poisoning, heh, it felt like it was tearing and smooshing my insides." She giggled a bit. "It worked wonders, I was better in less than a week. Just make sure you take something with it, or you'll feel really sick alright?"

Ed looked at it and smiled back gratefully, "Yeah. Thank you miss, I really appreciate it." He placed it in his pocket. Of course he wasn't poisoned, but it still might come in handy, and plus it was the thought that counts. He turned back to the doctor and shook his hand, "Well thanks anyway."

"I'm sorry Ed." The doctor looked at the sullen boy, he may have been young…. and short, shh… but he really did act mature and was a lot smarter than many people older than himself. "You know, Ed, you may not have the money for medical procedures, but that doesn't include education on the subject."

"I'm sorry?" Ed raised an eyebrow, not following.

"What you may be suffering from could be one of different things, I don't have the time to help somebody with no money, but that doesn't mean you can't help yourself." The doctor smiled. "I would like to grant you access to the medical wing in the district library."

"You what?" Ed's eyes went wide.

"You seem like a smart young man, so what do you say?"

Ed blinked, "But, is it authorized?"

"I think I just gave it." The doctor continue to smile.

Ed smiled back slightly, "I see, thank you."

"It's the least I could do, since I can't be of any more help myself."

"Don't worry about it, see ya." Ed gave a salute and left the hospital. As he walked down the street, his stomach began to churn and he placed a hand on it. "Come on, I'm outta that hell hole now, you should be happy." He smirked and then looked at the bottle in his hand, reading the label. "Well, it says to take with food, so maybe a little snack will make you happy." His stomach gurgled. "Hey shut up!" Just then Ed froze in his tracks and gasped, "Al…!" He whirled around. "Alphonse!" He looked around. "Where is he, where did he go? I could've sworn he was right behind me, gah!" He pulled on his hair and continued on. "Man, somebody should really invent some kinda portable device to keep you in contact with people wherever they are…." He sighed and dug his hands into his pockets. "Maybe I'll see him back home." He pulled out what little money he had left. "Maybe I have enough left to at least get a small soup…"

After eating a light bowl of chicken broth from a corner bistro, Ed went home in hopes of finding his brother. "Al?" He called as he opened the door only to find a dark empty apartment. "Hmm…" He closed the door slowly and looked around. "It's not that late, maybe he's out busy…" He turned a light on by the table and wrote a note. "I'll tell him where I'm at, that way he won't worry and if something comes up he'll know where to find me." He set it down on the counter in the kitchen and then turned the light off, closed the door and left.

It was early noon by the time he got to the library, the doctor had already called the receptionist and she granted him access to the medical index at the smaller end of the library. Ed scrolled up and down, fingering the books, pulling out only what he thought would be necessary, then took them to one of the desks for study. He turned on the overhead light and smirked to himself as he cracked open the first book, "Wow, this really takes me back to our Alchemy studies…" He looked up, getting some flashbacks of Al and himself as smaller children when they were first beginning their training. "Makes me nostalgic, and… and it kinda makes me want to go back home…" He shook his head and focused. "Gotta get started on work here…" He turned to the first page and began to read.

As the time went by and the sun moved across the sky, Ed retained the valuable knowledge on the subject he was reading and continued to learn. Finally he stretched and decided to take a break, he stood up, cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms behind his head. "I should move around for a bit, maybe take a bathroom break." He walked around and looked around the building, it reminded him of the library at the university where he and Alphonse met and began work on the rocket project. Just then he froze and clenched his stomach, "Whoa man…!" He raced to the bathroom and luckily nobody else was in there. When he finished he washed up in the sink and splashed his face. "Dang, food was a bad idea." He began to cough harshly, he cupped his stomach and wiped his mouth when he was finished. "The medicine really isn't helping, it was a nice thought but I wasn't really poisoned by anything, it could just be making it worse since it wasn't for me to begin with." He dug into his pocket and pulled out the label again, he paused as he looked at it in his hand, but he was in fact looking past it onto his hand. "What…?" He put the bottle down and looked closely at his hand. "Is that, blood…?" He began to grown nervous as he stared at it, he started coughing again harder this time, not covering his mouth, and he keeled at the waist, and finally when the spell ended he opened his eyes and froze, he began to feel the sweat roll down on his skin as he saw more. "Blood…! What, why?" He turned on the sink and took one of the small cups, took a drink and threw it out. He began to pant, "What is going on here?" He propped his hands on the counter and leaned in closer to the mirror, he opened up his mouth and laid his tongue down flat so he could see down his throat. He gasped, shocked to find more of the same substance dotting it. "But, but how…" He began to shake then he froze. "Wait a sec…!" He raced out of the bathroom and rushed back to his stack of books, flipping through them. "I just read something… and if this isn't the lethal lung ailment Alphonse had, then it can only point to one thing…!" And just as Ed finished his statement he turned to the exact page in the medical dictionary. He froze staring pale and shaking at the page. "Then…!"

Just then Al was seen hurrying through the library, the receptionist saw the resemblance between Ed and himself so she directed him towards the medical wing, "Brother!" He stopped when he saw Ed standing over the books, his head down, bangs covering his face. Al slowly began to walk over, "Brother…?"

"Alphonse…." Ed's voice was dry and quiet as it shook to escape.

"What are you doing here, what's wrong?"

"Al, I…" Ed finally brought himself to look up at his younger brother's worried face, his own covered in sweat from his broken nerves, he moved his hands to cover the pages on the open book. He swallowed hard, desperate for something to drink, and not wanting to tell him what he discovered just yet, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you, I didn't find you at home but I saw your note, and, are you alright?"

Ed caught his breath, "Yeah, I'll be okay." He forced a tired smile.

Al noticed the piles of open books scattered on the table, "What are you doing?" He began to walk over.

"Oh, eh…" He began to shut them all feverishly. "Nothing, just studying on some topics."

"Like what, your body?" Al spoke seriously.

"Uh…" Ed didn't know how to answer as he finished stacking the books.

"Brother, please, I want to help you. We may not be able to pay the doctor to help us, but we do have each other! And our help to one another is free of charge."

Ed stared in shock at Al, but then smiled, "Thanks Al."

Al sat down, "You're welcome." He took one of the books. "Wow, all this medical research… it must take you back to our Alchemy books."

Ed laughed a bit, "Yeah actually I got the same vibe, ha!" He sat back down. "Al…"

"Yeah?"

"How do you know, I mean, what are you going to be looking for?"

"Well, I don't know exactly. But really neither do you, right?" He flipped through some of the pages. "But what I do know is that no matter what it takes, in the end, I will be there with you, because we've always been there for each other, we've always been honest and open with each other."

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"So what was it brother, what was it that you were going to tell me?"

"Huh?" Ed looked up, snapped out of the somewhat tranquil daze.

"Earlier, when I came in, you had a look on your face, like you had something on your mind, something big and important that you wanted to tell me. What was it?"

"What was it…?" Ed didn't really know how to answer that. "It was nothing, I was just worried about you, and, I felt so relieved when I saw you that…"

"Brother…"

"What?"

"Tell me the truth!" Al stood up, Ed drew back and looked away. "Brother, you know what's wrong with you, don't you. You're a smart guy, I know, you've been here studying these books for hours before I showed up, you and the doctor talked, so tell me, tell me what it is brother, what it is that's wrong with you!"

"Al, I…" Ed gripped his throat, suddenly feeling so thirsty. "What I have, might not be able to be cured, unless we're lucky enough to have the money."

"You mean for a transplant?"

"Or for the other option of surgery."

"Surgery? I don't get it."

"The transplant is like starting over with a new organ, surgery would, well I guess take out the bad and leave in the good. But did you know what was wrong with them in the first place?"

"Well no, not exactly. And I'm not sure the doctor knew either."

"Well granted to that, he didn't because we didn't have the money for those tests, and from exams and observations and talking he drew some ideas."

"But in your reading, you found the answer?"

"To that question yes, but to solve that solution we don't have the money for surgery if the case where no transplant were found to save me."

"Then just tell me brother, tell me what it is we can do."

"I don't know…"

"Brother… what's wrong with you?"

"Al I…. I…I just don't know how to say it." Ed's voice became quieter as he spoke on.

"Then just tell me honestly, no matter what it is Ed, I'll be there for you just like you'd be there for me, and I'll help you, and I'll take care of you."

"But if we can't save my life, and it was all done in vain… because Al, I…"

"Brother, just tell me!"

"I have cancer…"

…………………..

The library remained open until late so even once the lights turned on and the moon hung in the sky. Ed remained quiet, sitting I his chair and not even touching the books. Once he'd broken the news to Al, however, he began to skim through them furiously in order to find some kind of answer or loophole even.

"The symptoms do all point to it…" Al spoke as he jotted down notes he was keeping from different books. "But how do we know which internal organ has been effected?"

"Who knows and who cares, point blank remains the same, and that's that I'm gonna die."

"Brother!" Al slammed his hands down on the tabletop. "I refuse to let you give up and talk like that! There was a shortcut with Alchemy so there must be with modern medicine in this world too." Al went back to reading. Ed coughed a few times and patted his chest. "You have to take care of yourself now brother. Even if you think there is no point."

Ed glanced somewhat carelessly over at Al. He watched Al work in the lamplight and blinked, he realized and he knew deep down inside that if their roles were reversed and he was the one fighting to save his little brother's life, he'd be doing the same thing. He sighed and closed his eyes, lowering his head as he understood, and yet still though, with the pain he was suffering in his body, he just felt like he wanted to give up. Finally closing time arrived, the receptionist however allowed the brothers to check out some of the materials until the end of the week. Ed paid her with what little money he'd had left and they left, taking the books home. Once they arrived, they set them on the table but rather than heading right back to work, Ed just went into the living room and flopped down on the sofa, his back facing Al. Al turned and watched, he started to move forward in order to go over to him.

"Don't Al." Ed's voice stopped him from even taking one step. "I'm going to sleep."

Al sighed, "Okay brother. You do whatever you want, and I'll do the same."

Al turned and went back into the kitchen where they'd put the books on the table. He sat down and went back to working where they'd left off. Ed looked over his shoulder at the dimly lit room, he turned back and sighed, then he closed his eyes and went to sleep, only after letting the painful stabbing spell end from attacking his gut once again.


	3. Ch Three

**A/N**: _Hey, you guys are gonna love this…. what long blonde haired, short standing state Alchemist do you think I will be dressing up as on Tuesday for Halloween…? Give you three chances to try…. oh, what, did you say Ed? Yeah, that's right… and yes I AM a girl… lol, anywho, I figured if I do bit by bit typing in small amount chapters I can upload them more often, so I hope it'll still be good and I can take it one of many ways... and more readers, YAY!!! Oh also I did a quick pic of how I see Ed and Al, and since time has supposed to have gone by since we last saw them I made them look a little different, and I gave them just plain old clothes because I didn't want to get too much into German fashion history, lol. Well anywho, enjoy…!_

"Mmm hmm mm mmnmm…" Ed was humming while rolling his eyes a bit nonchalant. Al's eyes however were focused, staring strait on target. Finally Ed cleared his throat, "MMHMMN!"

"Huh?" Al snapped out of the daze and drew back slowly after being within only inches away from Ed's own face, his eyes leering forward at him.

Ed closed his mouth after his brother stopped poking and prodding around inside, "Are you quite done in there now….!?" He tapped on his chest to clear things out. "Gees."

"Oh, sorry." Al looked away, having lost the track of his thoughts. "I guess I just got lost in thought."

"Oh yeah?" Ed scoffed slightly at the remark. "Thinking about what, my wisdom teeth!?"

"Brother…"

"Ugh, look, are we done now?"

"Yes." Al sighed. "I just wanted to make sure I have all the analysis complete, all the observations and all of your symptoms and pains logged, that way we can do our research better and maybe find if there's a better way than modern medicine to cure you, I mean I'm sure there's another way, there always is."

"This is why I hate doctors…" Ed hissed quietly to himself through his teeth, ignoring Al's rant of hope. He stood up and cracked the joins in his arms. "My throat's all dry now, I'm getting a drink okay."

"Oh. Right, sorry." Al said absentmindedly as he wrote. He began to think again. "Brother…"

Ed had gone to the bathroom to get a drink and rinse off his face, after he turned off the faucet he dried off with the towel and looked in the mirror with a smirk, "Well, hey there handsome." He stuck out his tongue to make a silly face and then laughed slightly, then he stopped and sighed as he began to think himself, staring at the mirror lost off in space and time. "Al…" He closed his eyes as he flashed back to an old memory. "I remember, and I know why you're doing this…" He could still hear the screaming…

Back when Ed and Al were still both small and Trisha was still alive, Al had become terribly sick to his stomach. They were young and neither understood what was going on, but frankly Ed didn't really care, all he knew was that his brother was crying out loud in pain and needed help, and all He was doing was being kept outside the room, looking around the cracked open door to see his mom and a doctor she called standing talking over the bed. The doctor didn't look to happy and of course their mom was very sad and afraid. Ed hated seeing his mom and brother this way and it angered him. The next thing Ed knew, the stranger had picked Al up and was leaving with him, his mom agreed, but he could see the fear and sorrow in her eyes.

"Mom, why is he taking him away, what's going on!?" Ed demanded in his small voice.

"He's taking him to a hospital to help try and save him, I can't do it here."

Ed's eyes shook with misunderstanding as he gasped quietly, "Is he going to die…?"

His mother looked down at him, slightly biting her lip, "No I think he'll be alright honey, but, he's in a lot of pain. He's got what they call appendicitis, he might need an operation."

"An operation…?" Ed's question came with wide eyes, his frown quickly turned angry. "I don't care what it's called, all I know is that he's sick and needs my help!" Ed's anger made him upset and his eyes started to water.

"Oh, my little man…" His mother bent down and hugged him.

"Mom…" Ed choked.

"You're such a good big brother." She said quietly to him beneath the tears. Ed sniffed and put his crying eyes against her shoulder, and as they cried, Ed made a promise to himself that he would always keep, a promise, for Al.

Ed opened his eyes, finding himself in the bathroom staring at the serious face that looked back at him in the mirror, "I made a promise to you Al, and I promise you I will keep it…"

Al was still lost in his own thoughts as he felt the scar from where he'd had his apendix removed as a small boy, "I can remember a time when I felt so cold and hollow inside, where I missed the such things on my old warm body like these scars. But still yet that metal body protected me from wounds that would create such scars, and you traveled in the flesh, risking it all. Have you already forgotten about it all, brother? I haven't, it wasn't that long ago, but how could you forget, the pain that you were in…?"

Al went back to a flashback of his own, this one was much more recent, it was back when they were looking for the stone and shortly after they lost Marco. There was a terrible storm, they were out in the middle of nowhere and it took them a while to find shelter, but they soon came across a small town. It was late and by that time Ed was freezing, Al was fine for being in a suit of armor after all, but Ed has passed out as soon as they found an inn with a nice warm room. Al put him to bed and sat next to him on a chair, the rain pelting against the window in the darkness of the night outside. The only other sound than that was that of Ed's coughing, it was harsh and terrible sounding from deep in his lungs as he tried hard to get the air to breathe in his feverish sleep. He was running a terribly high fever and Al was very worried. The doctor in town was gone on vacation but the inn keeper said it looked like it was a rough case of ammonia.

"Al…" Ed wheezed in his semi conscious state.

"Yes brother, what is it…?" Al leaned in.

"Al I'm scared…" Those three words caused Al to freeze up. "Please, don' t let me die…"

"Brother…" Al's eyes shook with fear.

"I, I'm sorry Al…" Ed said between gritted teeth as he continued to struggle to breathe, he broke down into a harsh coughing fit as Al could continue to do nothing but sit there, once the spell finished Ed gripped his neck in pain.

"All I could do was watch as you fight alone, though I was there by your side I could do nothing to help you, no matter how much I wanted to, wanted to help you, help you to get well and continue to live in this world alive with me." Al was thinking to himself back in the present. "We lost mom, I never knew dad, and I wasn't about ready to loose you…"

Ed was thinking as he was walking back into the living room from the bathroom, "I promised you I would fight alongside you no matter what, with anything…"

"I hated to see you in such pain, being so helpless to do anything for you…"

"So that's why I decided…"

Ed and Al both looked up once they sensed they were in the same room together, and they solely finished their similar thought, "I would give anything and everything in equivalency just to be there, to stay there by your side, to help you, to save you from the pain, and help you get through. To be there to carry your weight if you ever had to call it quits, because my life is yours, and your life is mine. We are brothers, we are one, and without the other, there is no equivalency to alchemy, and there is no equivalency in our hearts. And I will keep this promise, a promise maybe I cannot explain, but you and I both know…"

Al looked over at Ed, "Because I love you brother…"

Ed stared over at Al determined, "So help me God, Al…"


	4. Ch 4

**A/N**: _Well I guess it looks like this fic might be kinda put on hold for a little, some things (well more like a lot, sadly) have come up at work and I've been BUSY and samped with stuff (seriously stressed out) I won't go into the crap and drama, but it looks like I will be for a while. I've found very little time to even take a lunch break OR a deep breath... but I promise I won't forget the story, updates will just be more strung out once I find time to get away and write for a few minutes even, but I WILL continue this, but only if you do something for me... keep reviewing! And don't forget this story, I love continuing writing it! Thanks again, and enjoy...!_

"Come on now Edward, you have to drink your milk." Trisha spoke with a gentle scolding tone.

"I hate it, it tastes bad!" Young Ed protested.

"But you have to drink it if you want to grow up big and strong like daddy." Trisha smiled.

Little Al finished his quickly, "I'm all done!"

"That's a good boy." Trisha turned back to Ed. "Come on now, Alphonse doesn't protest."

"He doesn't mind drinking cow vomit."

"Brother!" Al frowned.

"Your body needs the nutrients if you want to be healthy."

"I don't need milk to be healthy... and I don't wan to grow up to be like dad!" Ed ran off. Trisha sighed sadly.

Al looked up, sensing her change in mood, "Don't worry mom, I'll grow up big and strong like daddy. I'll make you proud and I'll make you happy."

Trisha smile down warmly at her son, giving him a hug as she picked him up, "You already make me proud and happy my little boy."

"Eh...?" Ed's eyes snapped open, he sighed and his heartbeat returend to normal as he sat up, rubbing his head. "Those memories, it was all just a dream..." He looked over at Al who had been up all night working while Ed had passed out sometime after midnight.

"Well brother, it looks like your theory about you having cancer was right." Al deducted as he closed the last book.

"Yeah, well, that's no big surprise I guess…" Ed sighed, still a little groggy as he flipped through some of the papers of notes they'd made. He put his hand on his stomach, "But a cancerous ulcer? Didn't see that one coming…"

"Well, there are factors to take in such as your work, stress, your eating habits…" Al counted on his fingers.

"Okay, okay, alright, I get it… so it was inevitable that I brought this upon myself." Ed smirked. "Me and my big head… But this is my problem Al, I don't want to bring you into it."

"Like it or not, brother, we're brothers. Wherever you go, I go, whatever happens to you, happens to me."

"Fine then, if that's the way you want it… then what do you propose we do?"

"Well hope is slim, the cancer has spread from your stomach to other organs it seems like, gauging from your symptoms from tests and exams, it doesn't look like it's as bad a damage yet in your liver or kidneys, but it has made its way into your intestines."

"Ugh." Ed stuck out his tongue, grossed out. "Why me? I mean I figured it'd be something REALLY bad since it was REALLY painful… so what now, am I doomed to die a slow horribly painful death?"

"No, I said there was a slim chance of hope."

"There is….?" Ed perked up a bit at that. "Hey, wait a sec… how much does it cost…?"

"It's actually ironic, I read about it only after coming across it by accident in school journals. Radiation was the starting cause, and it's also being used as a cure. But it's experimental."

"What? So it's only in the test stage…" Ed grew nervous, but repeated. "How much?"

"Well along with the, what they're calling chemo, they're using other non-medical techniques. It's a health college study, so it's free."

"Buuuut…?" Ed was waiting for it.

"Survival rates are very low in success, but it has worked in some cases. Brother, this may be our only chance, our one FREE shot at your survival!"

Ed was still a bit hesitant, "Well…. alright, I guess I'll give it a chance."

"Oh brother, thank you!" Al jumped up and hugged him tightly.

"Okay, okay, okay…!" Ed struggled. "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry…" Al got off, blushing with a bit of embarrassment. "So."

"So, what?"

"When are we off to the university?"

"Ugh…" Ed ruffled his hair. "Eh, I dunno, whenever I guess."

"Whenever huh? As in, whenever I want?"

"Sure, whatever."

"Then tomorrow we'll make plans so we can leave the next day."

"Great, great, fine." Ed wore a toothy grimace and looked away in thought, still a little nervous and unsure about all of this. But it was for Al, and for Al, he'd do anything.

The next day Al was bustling with excitement, up early to pack clothes and food for their trip as well as make travel arrangements with what money they had left, after this they would have practically nothing left, so Al had told the situation to the apartment owner. Luckily the old man was kind and understanding, so he said that he would save it for them once they came back, because it was a special circumstance. Ed quit his job, he didn't bother going into explanations of medical leaves of absence, and also he didn't think he'd survive, so why hold onto a job for a dead man? By the end of the day everything was ready and set to go, Al made a meal of all the perishable foods left in the house that wouldn't be taken with them. Al was happy, eager with excitement, but Ed ate quietly and slowly, having been lost in thought all day. Al noticed this of his brother but didn't say anything and brushed it off and acted normally, he understood Ed's reasons and decided to leave it at that, and start the talking tomorrow when they began their journey. And the next day, their journey did indeed begin…

"I hate Germany's bus stations…" Ed frowned as he looked around the street.

"Come on brother, it's better than walking." Al smiled, recalling their adventure for the stone again.

"Still, this is just like old times, isn't it?"

"Yeah I guess so, trying to get my body back to normal again eh?" Ed laughed.

"You should take care of it." Al winked. "You never know what you miss till it's gone."

"Don't worry Al, I'm sure everything will be just fine." Ed assured with a smile.

"Right, I know." Al sat down on the bench. Ed sighed and let the luggage sit on the ground rather than holding it, and he leaned against one of the posts that held up the overhang that was over the bench. Nobody else was there so Al relaxed. "You know, I'm actually a little bit excited about this trip?"

"Yeah? Well, me too to be honest."

"When we get there we have to go to the university and ask for the health studies professor."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. The receptionist at the library looked it up in the school records when I returned the books, she's a very nice lady to help us out so much." Al sat up. "Well, the bus is here."

Ed picked up his bags, "Let's mosey." Ed got on the bus first and handed the driver two tickets, it looked like an old, big and long VW bus, it was a little run down looking though. Ed went in to look for a place to sit, it was a little crowded.

"There's a spot there brother."

Ed was hesitant, "No, let's keep going." Ed and Al continued, as Al walked past the girl with the open seat next to her, he froze a bit, looking at her and realizing now why Ed had said no. They found a two seat open in the back and they both sat down.

"I'm sorry brother."

"No, it's alright. It just made me miss it, is all, she reminded me of somebody back home…"

Al kept staring over at the young blonde German girl, "Winery…" As they drove, Al noticed how the further they got the more and more restless and fidgety Ed got. "What's the matter, are you nervous?"

"A little. I hate doctors…"

"You don't have to remind me, I know. You remember the time mom had to make the doctor do a house call?"

"Oh yeah…" Ed smirked at the memory. "It was that time I had strep really bad."

"Yeah, and when mom would make appointments you would run away somewhere or hide in the house and she'd never find you until it was too late and you revealed yourself. I don't know how you did it, with that fever, having all that energy to be an escape artist."

Al laughed, imagining it. "You were so proud, wearing that big dopey grin."

"Meh, well I hated that doctor anyway…" Ed turned up his nose. "He left the damn thermometer in my mouth for like a half an hour, I swear!"

"Probably enjoying the peace and quiet."

"Hey…" Ed went back into the thought. "It's funny though, every time I looked over at mom she would just smile back at me, as if to like re-assure me. So it calmed me down."

"Yeah, I know what you mean about, that smile..."

"Yeah, even in our last memory of her last moments, she was smiling."

Al sighed thoughtfully, "I miss that smile of hers…"

"Yeah." Ed closed his eyes. "I miss her too…"

"You know brother, if not for, what happened back home… we'd still be there, we could be happy, none of this would ever have happened, and you wouldn't have gotten sick."

"No, don't do that Al…" Ed's eyes tensed underneath the lids as he spoke quietly through his gritted teeth. "Everything happens for a reason, EVERYTHING… even if it's bad, we have to move on, even if we don't like it, because it's not up to us."

"I know brother, I know…" Al sighed, smirking a bit apologetically. The sun was starting to set as they neared the destination town. "We're almost there…"

"Yeah, I can hardly wait." Ed sighed to himself.

At the university, they caught the health studies professor shortly before his night lecture and introduced themselves. He recalled their names from the scheduled appointment call and remembered their story, understanding their situation. Ed was given a full on complete physical exam so they could have all the data about his body on file before they began. Once they got the diagnostic report back in and read his case, he was accepted. Al had brought a file folder full of all of his notepapers, and so he was allowed to stay with them, seeing as they were all each other had the doctor understood their situation and was nice enough to let Al stay. And beside he knew, judging from how Ed was acting, that Ed would need Al there more than Al would need to be with Ed.

"That was a good first day." The head nursing student was walking Ed back to his room where Al was already there and in his bed asleep.

"Yeah, thanks for the introductory procedures I guess." Ed was quiet in speaking.

"Oh, one last question I forgot to mention, are you taking any medication?"

"What?" Ed stopped then looked away as he dug into his pocket, pulling out the pain mediation he'd purchased from the doctor back at the hospital. He held the bottle up, "Just this... but it looks like it's almost gone."

The nurse took it to inspect the label, "Ah I see. Well, you won't need this anymore."

"What? But without it..." Ed stopped, hesitant, remembering the horrible pain he'd been in when he first became ill and didn't have the medicine yet.

"Don't worry." The nurse smiled. "We have our own pain medications we'll be giving you, I assure you, it will be alright."

Ed stared at her and then sighed, "That's fine..."

"You must be tired, you should get a good rest, tomorrow will be a busy day." The nurse opened the door, Ed nodded and went inside.

Ed went into their room and closed the door, finding his way to the bed in the darkness. He sighed as he laid down, he glanced over at Al who was wearing a smile in his relaxed sleep. Ed closed his eyes and drifted off. That night as the boys slept, Ed was NOT in a very good mood. Sadly for him, though, if he thought the examination was tedious and annoying enough, the real pain and strenuous testing would be very hard for him to take. But he would handle it, he would endure the suffering again, because he knew why he was doing it, he was doing it all for Al.


	5. Chap Five

Ed and Al stood outside the door to the lab room, the hall was empty other then their selves. Ed stood a few inches from the door, staring down at the knob. Al was a few feet behind him watching his every move with a face slightly tensed with worry.

"Are you alright brother?" Al asked but got no reply. "Are you ready?"

"I'm... nervous." Ed spoke quietly, his voice shaking with fear a little bit.

"It's okay to be scared, brother. I'm scared too." Al stepped forward and stood beside him, following his similar motion of staring downwards in thought. "But I know everything will end up being alright, as long as we're here in this together."

"But Al, what if it doesn't work, and after all this I still..."

"But what if not Ed?" Al cut him off quickly, not wanting to hear him say the last word in that thought. Al sighed and turned back away from his brother. "If we don't try, we'll never know. Trying is the first step towards victory and success."

"Yes, but also to failure..."

"You're a winner Ed, with you fighting we can't loose."

Ed made a face mixed between a smirk and a grimace but turned up to Al, "I dunno really how else to respond to that remark, other than, thanks Al."

Al smiled, "You're welcome Ed."

"So. Are you boys going to be going inside anytime soon?"

"Ah!" Al and Ed gasped and whirled around to see the head nurse in charge of the study.

She blinked but smiled with a warm chuckle down at them and went in between the two to open the door, "Now shall we begin?"

"Uh, yeah, sure..." Al nodded and took a step after her. "Hey, you coming brother? ...Ed?" Al turned back to him a little worried, but this time Ed was smirking to himself.

"Funny Al, this is gonna be interesting."

"Huh, what? Why do you say that?"

"Did you get a good look at her face?" Ed smirked up at Al who blinked back his response. "She looks just, like teacher."

"Ah." Al gasped and turned back around to see her talking with one of the assistant doctors. "Wow Ed yeah, you're right!" He smiled.

Ed put his hands in his pockets and stepped through the doorway, "Just hope she doesn't hit as hard..."

"Brother..." Al followed.

"Well Ed." The nurse put her hand down on the exam table. "Are you ready to begin?"

Ed took a deep breath and hopped up, sitting down to face her, "Well, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good then." She snapped on a glove and the sound of it made Ed cringe as it shot through his ears. She blinked and looked at him, "You alright?"

"Yeah, sure." Ed smirked. "I just really hate that sound."

She laughed slightly, "It's alright, I get that a lot so I understand. Oh, by the way, I didn't introduce myself properly last night." She smiled warmly and stuck out her hand. "I'm Nurse Shelly Rosemary."

Ed extended his hand with a warm smile back, "Nice to meet you. Well let's get this over with then."

Shelly picked up the clip board, "Couldn't have said it better myself. Oh wait, here." She pulled out a bottle and handed it to Ed.

He took it and read the label, "What's this?"

"The pain medication, you might want to take the first dose right now before we begin."

"Ah I see." Ed lowered his brow and followed her directions, swallowing them without hesitation to complain. In the back of the room Al was watching, he knew what Ed was thinking, would it be so bad that he had to take the pain pills right now at the start? "Alright." Ed closed his eyes and nodded, looking back up at her again. "I'm ready now."

"Good then." She nodded with a grin. "Then let's begin. Now, once we begin you know everything's going to be different."

"My life has already forever changed... many times." Ed replied quietly.

Nurse Rosemary didn't really quite know how to respond, "Oh, I see then. Well, alright, get ready."

"Okay." Ed nodded and scooted over on the exam table and laid down on his back, staring up at the ugly off white ceiling above.

"I'm going to begin now, so please relax Mr. Elrick."

"Sorry." Ed released his clench on the plastic sheet underneath his tense body.

"Don't worry." Nurse Rosemary took out a thermometer and shook it. "I'm the best when it comes to this, and I'm going to do all I can to ensure that you will win and live." She smiled at him, but all Ed's reply was opening his mouth in awaiting the thermometer. She sighed a bit but went ahead and began procedures. "I'm going to give you some drugs to knock you out, so just stay calm." She picked up an IV and Al saw Ed's eyes get wide, but he noticed Al glancing at him and so he calmed down, closed his eyes and allowed the needle to find it's way pricked into his arm. "Good job Ed."

"Thanks." Ed said muffled behind closed lips around the thermometer.

"Brother..." Al grew nervous now in watching, he sat down and waited as they began to work on his older brother.

As the days went by, and the procedures went on, the tests became more strenuous and more in depth. But Shelly believed they were making great progress, the cancer in his stomach was still malignant and active, but when it had moved to other, more vital organs, and starting into his intestines it became benign so was easier to take care of with treatment. Ed became a lot quieter a person, Al noticed a lot of changes in his personality. And also in his appearance. They'd given him a new, strict diet to improve his health and maintain his body as they would apply the chemo radiation in later weeks. But Ed's body tone changed as well, and most notable to Al was his hair, it had become much shorter (much like how he had it in London once he'd gone onto the other side of the gate in the television series) and he seemed to do things with a lot more care and a lot less energy. Al felt a little guilty, for he knew that every time Ed looked at him he was reminded of his cause, the purpose to keep on going to try and live. Al began to wonder, with all that was happening to Ed now, if it was really worth it, if they'd come to far, and if it was all for nothing...? A few months had passed, and amazingly enough the treatment was working, the doctors finally believed the cancer had been removed from his body without surgery, so it was time to do a follow up exam. Nurse Rosemary came to Ed once the results of the physical examination were complete. (I didn't wanna go into the whole ordeal, I want to move on with the story so I spared the details so I can continue.)

"Well Ed I have good news for you." She was smiling. Ed looked up at her, hope returning to his almost lifelessly dull eyes. "The procedure was a success, the cancer in your vital organs and intestines have been completely dissolved and the cancer in your stomach is almost gone, all that remains is the active ulcer which we can treat easily with medication and you continuing your new diet."

"So you mean then, that..." Ed gasped, it seemed so long, he'd gone through so much, so was he really now going to be...

"Everything will be just fine." She wore a big grin.

"Brother!" Al gasped happily. "You see, you did it! You won, you're going to live!"

"Yeah, alright!" Ed jumped up and down. Nurse Rosemary watched and smiled as the two brothers hugged and jumped up and down together. But their excitement was short lived as Ed broke down into a very harsh coughing fit, keeling at the waist and backing up against the wall for support.

"Brother...?" Al gasped, a bit more nervous now again.

"Are you alright, what's wrong?" One of the doctors asked.

Nurse Rosemary frowned and readied the stethoscope from around her neck and placed it on Ed's chest as he finished the fit, "Take a deep breath Ed, please." Ed took a deep breath and let it out, it helped to end the fit. "This is bad, something's wrong."

"Is it the cancer?" Al asked, worried.

"No, I don't think so." She fumbled in her coat pockets and pulled out a plastic stick. "Ed, open your mouth."

"Ah." Ed obeyed and let her examine down his throat.

"This is what I thought..." She studied him carefully and noticed small traces of blood down his throat. "I didn't think this was possible, but..."

"Aht...?" Ed tried to ask with his tongue pressed.

Nurse Rosemary sighed and stood up, letting Ed get free, "I'm afraid during the chemo radiation therapy your body becomes more susceptible to things with your immune system weakened."

"So what's wrong with me now Shelly?"

"I think, it's the same lung ailment you say Alphonse had..."

"What?" Ed froze, his eyes wide.

"I didn't think it would progress, upon initial examination I saw that you had a light case of it, but I didn't think anything of it. I never realized that it would get worse after treatment, but..."

"But, he said..." Ed flashed back.

Alphonse and Ed were arguing, Alphonse coughed harshly and spat up blood, much to Ed's horror, "I don't have much time left to live, Edward..."

Ed shook his head back in reality, "So then, all of this pain and suffering, all of this for a tainted victory... IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING!?" Ed yelled but coughed.

"No Edward." Nurse Rosemary spoke shakily from his tone. "We can..."

"SHUT UP!" Ed's roar startled her to freeze.

"Brother, no..." Al's eyes shook.

"Screw this!" Ed jumped up and ran out of the room.

"Wait! No ED! Come back!" Al rushed to the door, but Ed had already left the sight of the hall. "No, no brother, no... don't do this... we've come so far, we were so close... don't give up on it now Ed, please... I'M BEGGING YOU!!!"


	6. Chap 6

**A/N:** _It was really quite hard to write this chapter (luckily I found some free weekend time to write today tho, work is just plain hell the past few days and I'm so stressed out I nearly had a breakdown and there's just soo much drama and crap going on there I just dunno anymore), but this was probably the hardest out of them all, especially because of how serious and intellectually factual FMA can tend to be, and it's hard to sometimes go off of the series since to begin with it is SUCH an amazing show and it's hard to top the dialogue and underlying themes within it that they have in the show, but I do my best I think especially since I'm used to writing comedies a lot, so don't judge me too hard on this one, what with the drama going on at work and all. It's just been kinda hard to write like how I used to in the earlier chapters everyone liked, what with all the stress at work and all. But I really want to try and end it nicely and kinda to the FMA style. Oh no, there is one more chapter, don't worry and get scared now, haha._

Ed was sitting on his bed, he didn't know the area of the town so he didn't want to venture around and get lost. Not that it wasn't in his personality, he just didn't have the strength of will, not after hearing the news he'd just got. It was dark in his room, the window was drawn shut so little light cracked in. His face wore a look that of decimation as he recalled Alphonse in his memory. Finally he rubbed his hand over his face and sighed, closing his eyes. He opened them and they landed upon the remaining pain pills left in the numerously refilled bottle on the small nightstand. He stood up and slowly walked over to them, picking them up and holding them in his hand. He stared down at them for a few moments, then growled as he clenched it tightly in his fist and hurled it against the wall, his voice exploding into a roar of rage. This happened just as Al opened the door to the room, seeing his brother standing panting and lost in the darkness, afraid and unsure what to do next now.

"Please, brother..." Al started to approach him, his hands stretched out slightly to express calming restraint.

"Get away from me Al!" Ed turned sharply, barking at his younger brother.

Al froze immediately upon seeing the unfamiliar anger surging across his brothers face, "Brother, please..."

"It's over Al... IT'S OVER!" Ed yelled, causing him to clear his throat to his dismay, angering him more. "Look what's become of me, this world, this world has changed me into something I'm not... Even back home Al! Even back home, when I was half auto mail... I WAS MORE MYSELF THEN THAN I AM MYSELF NOW!" He grabbed his jacket on the bed and threw it onto the floor, thinking of his auto mail reminded him of Winery and how much he missed her. "I'm screwed Al, I'm screwed no matter what I do... no matter how hard I try..." He sat on the bed, his voice quiet again, cracking trying to hide the tears.

"No Ed you're not." Al started to slowly make his way back over to him once again, this time reaching him and sitting next to him on the bed.

"But there's no cure... so there's no hope..."

Al's eyes became soft, "Brother..."

There was a soft knock at the door and Nurse Rosemary entered, "Are you boys aright in here...?"

Ed growled slightly, speaking up, "Leave me alone, Shelly."

She didn't listen and walked in, sitting on the adjacent bed Al slept on and faced the two brothers, "Listen to me Ed, we need to talk."

"It takes two for a conversation, lady..."

"Please, brother just hear her out. She knows more than we do."

"Maybe in this world, on this subject. In this world there is no alchemy, technology has progressed differently in this time, what with using science like chemistry and physics, and things like machinery and the laws of aviation for things like rockets and zeppelins. Even religion and sources of energy are different." Ed was recalling the conversation he'd had with his father when they'd been sent to the other side of the gate in London during the great war. "Medicine is different here too, it's more evolved. A disease like this wouldn't exist in our hometown Al, because it wouldn't have evolved from it's earlier stages. Do you know what I mean? Our medicine may have not been able to put up a fight enough to defeat it to make it grow stronger and even harder to expel from your body. We were simpler."

"I know brother, but that's irrelevant now, now that..."

"Let me finish Al." Ed was speaking quietly in his speech. "Things are however the same though. Take for example the military and peoples desires. Why did people search for the stone Al?"

Al blinked solemnly, "For power... for wealth... for eternal life... you know this brother, why..."

"I'm getting to my point. King Bradley may have been a homunculus but his motives were driven by a human being, Dante, and they both shared similar wants and needs and the same goal. In this world the stone may not exist, but look at the uprising going on now which people say and believe may cause a second world war, what is it for...?"

"Power, wealth, territory, pride..."

"Not so different, is it? Some things may be, but...I tried to learn more as I followed dad as he worked for Winston Churchill, but even the government here is different. I didn't understand the world when I arrived in London with dad, this world may be more violent, but that may be because there is no stone in this world, alchemy does not exist."

"But their better medicine and technology does brother. Brother... when Envy stabbed you in that fight, and I thought you were dead, I felt like I had no reason to go on or even put up a fight anymore, I could've given up and let them use my body as the stone to achieve their goals..."

"But you didn't have to Al..."

"We can talk more knowingly about it now because it happened in the past and we understand it all now. But back then, is like right here and now. We don't know."

"So then Al, what are YOU trying to say...?"

"I'm saying that we shouldn't jump to conclusions and give up. If I had then, would we be alive here today?"

"Maybe not, but..."

"But we still can't give up brother!" Al stared at Ed who was silent for a moment, and that gave Al a chance to rant a speech of his own. "Brother, do you know why we both exist together as brothers?"

"What? Now that's an obscure question... what exactly are you getting at with this one?"

"Brothers are different when they are separated, in another life, you and I could be an only child, we would be the same person and yet we would also be different. But do you know why we are so good at being brothers? Because we make up for one another, we're always there for each other, when one of us is in trouble the other comes to help, when the other one is weak, the other stays strong to help him carry on. Without one there would be no us, no brother, without you there would be no me, and without me there would be no you. It's almost a little selfish of me, for saying that, but... it's how I feel, and it may not be how the world works, but all is one and one is all, we are one, and in turn as a whole we are two."

Ed smirked, "You're not as experienced with venting as I am Al, granted you're smarter than hell, but you always were the quiet one."

"And you were the loud. See how such a good team we are?" Al laughed.

"I may not understand you two and your pasts..." Nurse Rosemary spoke up finally and they turned to her. "But some things are the same, like our bodies, and war for example. Ed, no matter what country a person's origin is from, if somebody gets hurt in battle, if a limb is blown off and they're given the chance to survive, they keep going with an artificial one. People don't leave their comrades to die, they help them carry on in the only way they can. They could give up, but it's not in the human spirit to let the fire die out like that. Maybe like Al said, it's because humanity is selfish. Or take your brother for example, when he had appendicitis as a child, he and your mother had two choices, go to the hospital for the operation to get it removed, or keep it and stay headstrong and die eventually a slow painful death of blood poisoning."

"They're different situations, they aren't the same. Al was a child, a military fighter chose the chance of death when they signed up."

"But they both had a chance at life, and they both took it. I've seen a lot of patients and lab rats in my day, and so far the result is the same. Whether it's a limb, an appendix, a cancerous organ, or even your tonsils, you can remove something from your body and it will still be a body. It's not the flesh that makes you a human, it's your heart, your soul. And it's that spirit within you that keeps fighting. Nobody wants to quit Ed, and deep down inside, I know you don't either. You're just afraid, because this is foreign to you, and you don't understand it like you might something else..."

"Like alchemy back home Ed. There were people who didn't understand alchemy too brother, and they were afraid of it. This world may be different but all in all it's really very much the same. Really the other side of the gate is just a parallel universe."

"We may not have a cure for what you and Alphonse have, but we do have medicines to prolong your life. It's similar to what people with asthma use, only your case is much far worse, but I'll still use it as an example. Inhalers for asthmatics don't cure them, but they give them the key to surviving. The choice is up to you Ed, you know that."

Ed sighed, "I get so emotional sometimes... Al you know me, you know I'd never quit, especially not for you. We live for each other, and since my life belongs to you, I want to keep living, to keep giving it to you. Because we'd be lost if not for each other, without the other, there would be no us, no brothers."

Al smiled, "Yeah. I knew you would. We are brothers, we may live according to equivalent exchange as alchemists, but even in this world where we are both just simple average teenagers, we still live a life for a life. And that's a universal law of compassion."

"There are people who might not understand what we say, but as long as we do, with each other, isn't that really all that matters?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right brother."

Ed grinned, "Well sure I am."

"We've been through so much in our young lives, but our bond as brothers is so strong, I can't think of anything else that's stronger."

"And if anybody questions it, POW!" Ed punched a fist into his hand.

"I may not understand your words, Ed." Nurse Rosemary stood up. "But I understand one thing." She touched his chest right over his heart. "It's what's in here. And sometimes, that's really all that matters, it's your heart that's what counts, in any language."

"Thank you Shelly." Ed smiled at her. "I guess I can be an idiot sometimes, huh?"

"Sometimes...?" Nurse Rosemary grinned slyly at Al, who laughed.

"Hey come on cut that out!" Ed roared like his usual self but it caused him to cough for air again.

"Alright that's enough teen angst, here." She handed him something that looked like a small spray bottle. "Spray this medicine down your throat and inhale it whenever you break into a coughing fit and can't breathe so it will go into your lungs. It may not cure the ailment, but it will help you to continue living for many years to come. It will be an adjustment to your lifestyle, but if you want to keep on living and not die, it's all that we can do for you."

Ed lowered his brow up at her, "But I don't have any money to pay you for this. This isn't part of the cancer study you conducted on me."

"No, but it's because of those experiments that you have the ailment. So it's the least I can do to try and help make things right." She gave a peace/victory sign.

Ed smiled thankfully, "Thank you Shelly." He stood up. "For everything, so much, I feel like I'm in debt to you."

"And remember Ed, I'm always here if you need more medicine, or feel sick and need a check up. Don't forget me, and come back. I hope to see you next year for your annual exam, and you'd better be healthy mister, you got it?" She winked.

"Trust me Shelly, you gave me another chance at life, you are a good nice person. I won't ever forget you."

"I'll make sure he remembers to keep his promise." Al smiled at her and then turned to Ed. "And I'll always be there for you too brother, no matter what."

"Of course you will Al, and I know that because, I'll always be there for you, just like I swore."

Nurse Rosemary smiled as the boys looked at each other with a determined smile on their faces, "Oh yay, everybody's happy again, big group hug!" She brought them both in close. It caused the boys both to smile. She was hugging them, just the way teacher had once did.

Ed closed his eyes and whispered, "Thank you."

And so the brothers gathered their things and left the university hospital lab and headed back home. They didn't have any money for fare back this time however, they were flat broke! But, where a door closes a window opens, and they did have one more option...

"Aw, come on, there goes another one." Al groaned, a car passing them as they tried to hitch hike and so far nobody was picking them up.

"Come on you jerk!" Ed roared, throwing a fit but coughed and took a puff of the medicine spray bottle.

"Still the same old Ed." Al smirked.

"Yup. No matter what happens to me Al, I'll always be the same ol Ed. Because it's not a body that makes us human, it's our souls. And you can count on me for that one."

"Good, I'm glad, cause here comes another car."

"Come on, be a pal, pick us up!" Ed jumped up and down, his thumb out, and the car stopped and pulled over.

"Ah!" Ed and Al beamed and rushed over.

"Hey, thanks a lot there pal!" Ed leaned into the window and paused, then smiled as the man stared back at him. He looked just like a smaller (less sparkly) Armstrong.

And so as the boys headed back home, night began to fall as the man drove them all the way since it was on the way to his own destination. Al looked over at Ed who was sleeping peacefully and resting his head against him. Ed was mumbling in his sleep, but Al was smiling. It seemed like it had been forever since the last time he saw his brother sleeping so well and that they both had been so happy together. Ed still may be sick and he might be like that forever until the day he dies, but at least they were together and would be for a long time, sick or not, weak or strong, heaven or hell. They both knew come what may they would always been brothers in each others arms. Al put his arm over his brother so he would rest more comfortably. Ed may be the older one, but Al always had to keep the level head and look out for him, Ed would ignore orders and Al would always obey and remember things when Ed didn't listen. They made a good team, they were the yin and yang halves that made a whole. Al smiled and closed his eyes as he too started to drift off into sleep amid his own happy thoughts. They worked so well together as a team, and maybe again, it was because, they were brothers, and their love for each other was the strongest bond that could ever exist in the world, this one or the next.

_'I made a promise to you, and I swear forever to keep it. To do anything no matter what happens...'_


	7. Seven

**A/N:** _I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed and enjoyed my first FMA story, it was a great ride, I really liked writing it a lot and the challenging parts were fun too and this category as a whole I really hope to write some more for it soon again in the future (if work gets better, and I think it will...) like maybe a short lil fun story about Ed or even like who knows, something really "out there" like a Rose/Scar story. I love FMA and I enjoyed writing about it. In the beginning I was thinking about taking this to a different direction, where Ed doesn't survive and does die and Al is left alone and the story becomes about his new journey all alone... but this is my first story, no angsty ending, happy ending! Then I was thinking that Ed and Shelly would get together and like have a daughter they name Trish after his mom, but again I chose not to and chose to end it this way. So again, read, enjoy, and once more, thank you!_

"Al gave his mind, body and soul to give me back my life, and my lost limbs." Ed's face was dark in his memory as he stood on the transmutation circle. "All of this was for him, it's not fair, I should've been the one who died." Al had said the same thing about Ed. "He gave it all up for me, it would be selfish for me not to do the same, to make this world a better place for him, and everyone else, no matter what happens to me, my spirit, my heart, that's what makes up a human being, not the flesh or body. Is that really what a homunculus is supposed to teach it's creator...?" Ed closed his eyes and clapped his hands. "If not, then I guess that I learned it on my own... through our own sacrifices for each other... and this is for you, brother..."

Ed snapped awake from the dreaming flashback and looked up to see Al looking down eagerly at him, "Are you feeling alright now, brother?"

"Oh my head, it's killing me... this is the worst headache I ever had. And I've been hung over before...!" Ed sat up groggily and groaned as he felt his forehead, "But, I think my fever's fading..." It was the winter now, a few months had past and because of his weakened condition (mainly in his chest) he'd caught a very bad cold that became bronchitis in his lungs and they were worried it could become something more serious like influenza because it had been very chilly and was raining a lot. "I'm still so dizzy though..."

Al sighed and picked up a glass of water from beside him and handed it to his brother, "You need to be more careful now, brother. You can't be as reckless as you once were anymore."

"I know." Ed drank it. "But at least I have you here with me."

Al lowered his brow, "I might not always be here for you..."

Ed scowled slightly at that, "Don't say something like that Al..."

"Sorry..." Al took the glass back and sighed, then smiled over at Ed who was breathing very struggled, it sounded wheezy and raspy, very congested in his chest. "Hey, brother?"

"Yeah?" He cleared his throat to speak to him clearly.

"Would you... will you mind tell me something?" Al paused. "About dad...?"

"About him...? Why?"

"Yeah... well, you spent time with him here, I want to know everything. I never got to live with him, even as a baby, I just want to know, what it all was like."

Ed blinked but then smiled, "It was... something else alright, nothing like living with you and mom. After I successfully returned you to our home I ended up back in London. Dad and I were able to stick with the heard and go with the flow during the war and we survived. While he was working for Winston Churchill he met a German man who was doing something with religion and stuff that was a lot similar to alchemy. He gave me a Cornello vibe, but dad decided to join up with him and so we moved back with him to Munich where he became a science professor at a university."

"Was it the same university that Shelly..."

"No. No, and I was nervous about that at first, I wasn't sure myself. But it was in a different city, we were in Munich and this university was outside of Berlin. I worked part time at a nearby beer hall to help dad pay for things during the inflation following the great war, it wasn't for that many march's, but, and we lived nearby to a book store where I found books on aviation and rockets from an American writer. They were very good, and their words an ideas inspired me. I thought it might hold some kind of answer to getting back home to you, so I traveled to learn and went to a school where I met Alphonse, I wasn't old enough or had enough education or money to go to a university but it was still a very good school. Later when I came back home, dad was gone, he had been, and nobody had seen or heard of him in a while. So I moved in with Alphonse since we were already starting to work together." Ed paused. "But, living with dad... it was something else alright, different, a real adventure." He smiled, remembering it. "I, dare I say it… had fun."

Al smiled as he watched his brother, "I'm glad, brother... that you realized now, that he really was a good man..."

A year had finally passed, about every five weeks Ed would send out for a new bottle of the mediation spray for his lungs. It would've still been free of charge but now that Ed was back home with Al in their apartment and working again, he sent them money. Al had gone back to the grocery store, and Ed didn't go back to his old job, rather he worked with the nice old man in the furniture store under their apartment, so everything was working out great. But a year had indeed passed, it was time for Ed and Al to return to the university's health lab, Ed needed his annual follow up check up to see how he was fairing after the chemo, and the new lung ailment. Nurse Rosemary gave him a complete physical examination once again like she had done before when they first met, but she paid most attention to his vital organs and also carefully examined his lungs and throat with great detail testing. Finally after the exam was over, they were able to speak less professionally and more as old friends.

"Well good news Ed." She said as she took off and threw out the gloves. "You are doing just fine. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, I'm happy too. I owe my health to my better half."

"Brother..." Al rolled his eyes.

Nurse Rosemary smiled, "I know you've been taking good care of your brother Al, and Ed I know you've been looking after your little brother too."

"It's what we do." Ed and Al shrugged at the same time, and that made her smile in amusement again.

"Shelly."

"Yeah Ed?"

"I still want to say thanks, I can't thank you enough for what you did, I owe you so much, my life, after all you saved my life."

"And I owe you too, if you didn't save brother, who knows where I'd be and what may have happened to me."

She laughed, "Come on, it's my job."

"The medicine works wonders too." Ed looked at the spray bottle he had in his pocket. "At first my body wasn't used to it and in reaction I got a terrible sinus infection in my nose, and I even got laryngitis. But we took care of that and it went away quickly."

"And it also irritated his throat at first too because when he first became sick from the cancer in his stomach he threw up a lot and had numerous cases of acid reflux from heart burn, and the medicated spray was stinging the erosion scars in his throat and causing them to heal slower. But they've also gone away over time and now his voice is better."

"My, such big medical words." Nurse Rosemary smiled. "Sounds like somebody's been doing their homework."

"Brother and I both want to learn more so we know more next time something else might happen. Besides, who knows, maybe one day I'll become a doctor."

"That's wonderful Al. In fact, I'm almost finished with my credentials, next year I'll be a professor here giving lectures."

"Wow, congratulations." Ed gave her a big grin. "You've worked very hard, you're a nice person and you deserve it. If you work hard, you will be rewarded. That's just equivalent exchange."

"Thanks Ed, all this flattery, are you sure you're not hitting on me?" She winked, that caused Ed to go pale white and slack jawed, making her laugh. "That's very kind if you, but I'm much too older than you to be dating a little boy."

"Little...?" Ed grumbled to himself. But a man always should be the older one in the relationship... I agree Shell.

"By the way there, Ed…?"

"Yeah?"

She gave him a coy smirk, "How old are you exactly anyway?"

"Eh?" Ed blinked. "Well I was born in 1899, I don't see how hard it would be for you to do the math off of my report folder." He looked at his medical file.

Shelly gasped, "You're in your early 20's!?"

"Yeah, why, what's so surprising about it?"

"You and your brother are so alike, you look about only a couple of years apart, and I figured you were still teenagers and… well I mean since you're kinda short I didn't think you were in your early 20's."

"Short…!?" A lightning bolt shot through Ed's head. "He's only like a couple inches taller than I am...! Same old story, different world, same... old... story...!"

"Well I always was the more mature acting one..." Al laughed nervously at Ed who had a thunderstorm hanging over his dark head, he turned to the nurse with a smirk, "Maybe once I go to a school and graduate with my doctorate degree, if Ed ever gets really sick and needs an operation, I can be the one to take out his tonsils." He made a snipping motion and winked over at Ed.

"That's not funny!" Ed stood up, stoming his foot as he roared. "How many times have I told you to cut that out! And stop picking on me, I'm the older brother OLDER!" He jumped over to tackle Al but he dodged aside. "I hated that doctor, and I'm sick of that ploy! Darn you Al!"

"Missed me, miss me, now you gotta catch me!" Al ran off out of the room.

"Get back here!" Ed jumped up and chased him down the hall around and around.

"I promise to give you lots of milk tasting vanilla ice cream Ed! Just don't get a brain freeze... oh no wait, you can't! Hahah!"

"SHUT UP!!"

"Boys, come on now... don't act like children." Nurse Rosemary smirked and rolled her eyes as she watched them run around. "Well they still are kids. But they're growing up so fast they don't realize it. Enjoy your childhood, and maybe one day Al, you two will come to the university here, and learn more about health and medicine. And then, if that were to be the case..." She smiled up as she looked out the open window. "You'll be the students, and I'll be the teacher..." She watched the boys wrestle each other in the field that sunny afternoon under a clear blue sky as Ed gave Al an arm bar on his left arm until Al tapped out. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Note to self, I just hope Ed decides to take something like English philosophy instead of my medical class..."

In the end, the second world war happened. Nurse Rosemary became a doctor and was shipped out to war rather than being able staying at the university to be a teacher. Al studied hard, went to school and became a doctor as well (granted though it happened AFTER the war... but he still did it) and Ed, much like back in their home, became a military dog with some other Germans forming a group against the Nazi party but to still defend their country from any threat from the other non-allied powers in the war. He didn't die and came home in one piece (again I could've killed him off, but I love Ed so I'm nice to him... lol -huggles her Eddie-), his artificial limbs of course had come in handy. Shelly returned safely as well. Ed had been one of the ground ops but a tank shooting out poison gasses had fired upon them during the final days of the war and it caused Ed's lungs to worsen. Dr. Rosemary and Al both helped him though, they were still there for each other even after the war and after the years passed by and they grew older they staid in contact as friends. And Ed was able to still once again continue to go on living, no matter what it took or what happened to him, he was to make sure to keep that promise he'd made for Al... and Al, now a doctor himself, had all the more talent and ability to keep his own promise he had made for his older brother Ed. Together, they live.

**A/N:** _Okay, two juts popped into my mind... "Touch Of Passion" Can Ed regain what he's lost? Rose/Scar ... or maybe "Cat Got Your Tongue?" After a bad trip to the dentist leads Ed into falling for cute a neko chimera, can this day get any wierder. ...I dunno, I still gotta find time before I can do ANYTHING good or bad, this or not... anyways, thanks again for enjoying!_


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